Chicago Bound!

I had gone back and forth with myself about signing up for the Chicago Marathon.  I don't really want to make full marathons a thing because they are expensive, challenging, and taxing.  However, I knew that if I did anymore, I'd want to do a big name one...like Chicago or Disney World. So the night before the deadline to apply for Chicago, I decided to submit my application.  This past Thursday was lottery day (Chicago is based on lottery, not on your finishing times)...and I got in!! Holy crap! As soon as I found out, I called Tony and he booked a hotel room (I knew they would fill up fast).

So, it looks like on Oct. 9th I'll be running in the Chicago Marathon!!!

Lexington's Run the Bluegrass Half-Marathon

I ran this race last year as part of the Kentucky Half Classic. If you run Lexington's half as well as the Derby Half, you get a 3rd medal if you sign up and finish both races, and you get added perks as well such as special use of porta-pots...woohoo (which by the way I never found)!

This race is no joke. It is straight up and down hills the whole way. It's definitely a very challenging race, but also extremely beautiful since you run by several horse farms. I was definitely feeling nervous about this race.

On Friday (4/2/16), my mom and I headed to Lexington after working. She went with me last year so it was great that she wanted to go with me again. We headed straight for the Expo and got my race packet.  I love Lexington's race bibs because they put your name on them...that way when you're dying at the end, people can encourage you and use your name! After the expo, we went out to eat.  I didn't really focus on eating anything specific which is a good thing, because I ended up ordering this:

It was absolutely delicious...I love a good burger! I don't usually recommend ordering such a large meal before a race, but it actually agreed with me, thank goodness! After dinner, we headed to our hotel room.  I was actually pretty tired and fell asleep a little after 10.  The race started later than I'm used to..9:00. So I got up around 7 and ate breakfast and got ready.  My mom snapped this pic of me before we left the hotel room:

The "5" stands for my 5th half marathon!

On our way there, we got stuck in some traffic and my nerves started to get to me.  I just wanted to make sure I had time to pee before the race started.  Luckily we got there in plenty of time...in fact, the race ended up being delayed 10 minutes because of a wreck and they wanted to make sure all the runners could get there.  In addition to the half-marathon, there was also a 5k and 7-miler.  I was in the second wave of runners and parked myself by the 2:00 pacers.  I knew I wanted to finish under 2 hrs so I figured as long as I stayed ahead of them, I'd be good. I wasn't worried too much about my time since this race is so intense.  Anyways, after what seemed like forever, the race started.  Even though I did this race last year, I forgot about how hard it was.  I felt like I was crawling up those hills.  I'm dead serious when I say that you go up and down the WHOLE way.  It was not only physically challenging, but mentally as well. 

I always try to smile when I see the camera, no matter how much pain I'm in...who wants a pic of grimaces and pain?!

 I can't tell you how many times I was negotiating with myself to just walk.  But, I didn't...I kept plugging along. I was so excited to see the finish line when it was over.

I love this pic...just wish it was focused on me! My mom was right where I was looking so I was making faces for her (see the above picture)

Imagine my surprise when I crossed the finish line and met up with my mom and she told me that I had just set a new PR for my half-marathon! 1:55:35! I couldn't believe it...and still don't.  I seriously felt like I was crawling up those hills and barely moving!

I grabbed a free beer...hey, why not?! And then mom and I took some quick pics:

We headed back to Louisville after stopping for lunch at Panera! 

Race day = eating whatever I want!

Up next...the Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon on April 30th!

Papa John's 10 miler

Last weekend I ran the last leg of the Triple Crown, the Papa John's 10-miler. I ended up having a great race! I was supposed to meet Angie and Bill before the race, but they got stuck in traffic so I had to start the race without them. I'm a nervous pee-er before races so I headed for the Porta-pots before the race. After waiting about 20 minutes in line, I finally got to go! When I came out, there was only like 4 minutes till the start time so I went ahead and pushed my way up through the crowd (I like to start towards the front/middle of the pack).

The weather was chilly, but I tend to run better in the cold (it was in the low to mid 30's). Around mile 3-4 I wasn't feeling all that great (shakey and dizzy), but I stuck it out. This race runs through Iriquois Park which is all hills for 3 miles right smack dab in the middle of the race. I successfully made it! All I could think about while running the hills was that I was going to run 13.1 miles worth of hills in Lexington the following weekend, so I knew I could do it! The coolest part about this race is that it finishes on the football field at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. You literally run on the turf around the field to the finish line. I was happy with my time and had gone about 7 min faster than the time I ran it 2 yrs ago. I waited for Angie and Bill at the finish so we could take a quick pic:

We bypassed the free pizza (after running 10 miles? Yuck!). Grabbed a banana and some water and went home!

Next weekend is Lexington's Run the Bluegrass Half-Marathon!!